Residential waste service providers typically dispatch service vehicles to customer properties according to a predetermined pickup route assigned to each service vehicle. The pickup route for each service vehicle is often designed to provide waste services (e.g., to empty waste receptacles) within a particular geographical area (e.g., a subdivision) and at a particular frequency (e.g., once per week). For example, a particular service vehicle may be tasked to service several hundred waste receptacles at closely-spaced residences within a particular subdivision on a Tuesday of every week. After completion of the waste services within that subdivision, the vehicle operator may report the completion to a back office, which updates the operator's route and an account record for each customer. Customers in the subdivision that subscribe to these waste services are then billed based on the account record.
Various issues may arise in association with service of a customer's receptacles. For example, it may be possible for the service vehicle to arrive at the customer's residence before the corresponding receptacles have been placed out for service. When this occurs, the service vehicle may be delayed while waiting for the receptacles to be placed out, or the receptacles may not be serviced at all. In another example, if the receptacles are left curbside for too long after service has been performed, the receptacles may fall over, be blown away, block the roadway, be stolen, and/or be damaged. Similarly, some neighborhoods may have regulations regarding how long the receptacles can be left curbside and, without knowing when the receptacles have been serviced, it may be difficult for the customer to know when to retrieve the receptacles. In these situations, an advance notice that service will soon be performed and/or a notice that service has just been performed may allow the subscribing customer to quickly respond to the notice (e.g., to place out the receptacle for subsequent service or to return the receptacle to a stowed location after service).
Historically, confirmation of service being performed at a particular residence was attained manually. In particular, the operator of the service vehicle would manually check off a paper list each time the service was performed, and/or provide reasons for any service that was not performed. While this approach may have been successful in some instances, it was also problematic and had disadvantages for both the service provider and the customer. In particular, the manual confirmation was tedious and drew the operator's time and attention away from the actual service being performed and/or operation of the service vehicle. In addition, the manual confirmation provided hundreds of opportunities for error during each work shift. In some situations, these errors resulted in service being reported when the service was not actually performed, allowing the customer to be billed in spite of the lack of service. And the customer was left unable to prove that service was not performed. Further, the manual confirmation did not allow for customer notification regarding a service soon to be performed or a service just performed.
The disclosed system and method are directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.